8020Info specializes in strategic planning, public consultation/ research, & marketing communications.

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Blog Archives

Vol-23_No-04_Mar-06-2023

Posted on March 5, 2023 by Rob Wood

In this 8020Info Water Cooler we look at discovering fresh ideas for strategy-making, interviewing for values, getting to the point, trimming presentations, using storytelling to develop shared meaning in your organization, and 10 things to remember about people. Enjoy!

Discover Fresh Ideas for Your Strategy
Crafting an Interview Question on Values
Do Your Presentations Make Eyes Glaze Over?
The Importance of Sharing the Narrative
The List: 10 Things to Remember About People
Getting Straight to the Point
Reading: Intentional Leadership
Reading: Magic Words

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Tagged Berger, change, communications, discovering ideas, interview questions, language, leadership, managing people, presentations, storytelling, strategy, testimonials, values | Comments Off

Vol-23_No-03_Feb-13-2023

Posted on February 12, 2023 by Rob Wood

In this 8020Info Water Cooler we look at how we may be distracting our team members, leaders with blind spots, website buttons that get results, gaps for women in the workplace, a model for design research, and tips to curtail procrastination. Enjoy!

Stop Distracting Your Team
Leaders Are More Susceptible to Blind Spots
Design a Website Button Visitors Will Click
Empowering Women in the Workplace
The Model: An AEIOU Framework for Design Research
Are we in “trudge mode” or just procrastinating?
Reading: Understanding Organizations … Finally!
Reading: Brave New Workplace

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Tagged AEIOU, blinds spots, design research, distraction, empowerment, leadership, procrastination, teams, website design, wormen in the workplace | Comments Off

Vol-23_No-02_Jan-23-2023

Posted on January 22, 2023 by Rob Wood

In this 8020Info Water Cooler, we consider what makes for a great strategist, how to lead like a steward, using clarity committees, questions to consider before promoting someone, and negotiating interdependent strategies. Enjoy!

What Makes for a Great Strategist?
How to Lead Like a Steward
Creating a Clearness Committee
Are You an Authentic Leader?
7 Questions to Ask Before Promoting Someone
Negotiating Interdependent Strategies
Reading: Behavioral Economics for Leaders
Reading: ThinkerToys

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Tagged 2023, authenticity, behavioural economics, clear thinking, interdependent strategy, leader, promoting someone, steward, strategist, strategy, ThinkerToys | Comments Off

Vol-23_No-01_Jan-02-2023

Posted on January 3, 2023 by Rob Wood

In this 8020Info Water Cooler, we look at making adjustments to leadership style, designing for delight and simplicity, fostering your creative groove, building confidence, working clean like a chef, and issues for your board to monitor in 2023. Enjoy!

Adjust Your Leadership for the 2023 Workplace
Choose Courage over Confidence
The Keys to Designing Delight
Seven Issues for your 2023 Board Agenda
The Model: Ways to Foster More Creative Ideas
Six Practices for Working Clean
Reading: Attention Span
Reading: The Laws of Simplicity

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Tagged 2023, Attention Span, board issues, courage, creative ideas, design delight, Laws of Simplicity, leadership adjustments, working clean | Comments Off

Vol-22_No-17_Dec-05-2022

Posted on December 3, 2022 by Rob Wood

In this 8020Info Water Cooler we look at finding inspiration for the coming year, using a down-and-up “W” framework for planning, language to use when agreeing to disagree, conversations about personal or career development, 10 tips on the future, and our annual year-end shout-out to clients and community. Enjoy!

Choose Your Inspiration for 2023
Using a “W” Framework to Plan
Find Language to Make Disagreement Productive
Three Conversational Tactics for PD Discussions
10 Tips on the Future
Reading: Deliberate Calm
Reading: The 48 Laws of Power
Our 2022 Year-End Shout-Out

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Tagged 2023, career development, disagreements, future, Inspiration, language, PD, planning frameworks, quotations, reading, shout-out, tips | Comments Off

Vol-22_No-16_Nov-14-2022

Posted on November 13, 2022 by Rob Wood

In this 8020Info Water Cooler we look at five types of work personalities to consider when recruiting, plus the secrets of charisma, befriending Google rankings, hybrid work challenges, a checklist for effective email design, and planning with strategic foresight. Enjoy!

Five Personas Behind The Great Attrition
Charisma: Lessons from RFK and Research
Befriending Google’s Page Ranking
Managers are Suffering in Hybrid
A Litmus Test for Email Design
Considering the Tools of Strategic Foresight
Reading: How to have Difficult Conversations about Race
Reading: On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction

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Tagged charisma, Difficult Conversations, email design, hybrid work, page ranking, personas, strategic foresight, The Great Attrition, toxic employees, trade-offs, writing | Comments Off

Vol-22_No-15_Oct-24-2022

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Rob Wood

In this 8020Info Water Cooler we look at the importance of friends at work, onboarding and accountability, using doubts productively, six skills your team needs and tips from marketing cookware. Enjoy!

The Importance of Work Friends
Understanding (and Improving) Accountability
How to Become a Productive Doubter
Tips from Marketing Cookware
The Model: Six Skills Your Team Needs
A Renewed Focus on Onboarding
Reading: IdeaFlow: The Only Business Metric That Matters
Reading: The Half-Life of Facts: Why Everything We Know Has an Expiration Date

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Tagged accountability, doubts, friends, marketing, onboarding, productivity, reading, skills, team, work | Comments Off

Vol-22_No-14_Oct-1-2022

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Rob Wood

In this 8020Info Water Cooler we go from funnels to flywheels to neuroscience, from optics to decision rights through to six leadership dimensions and how to use meetings to develop your team. Enjoy!

From Funnels to Flywheels
Neuroscience Lessons to Incorporate into Life
Include Leadership Development in Meetings
It’s the Decision, Not the Optics that Counts
Six Dimensions of Leadership
Decision Rights: DARE may be better than RACI
Reading: Getting Along | Information Anxiety

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Tagged DARE, decision-making, flywheels, getting along, information anxiety, leadership, leadership development, McKinsey, neuroscience, optics, RACI, Sales funnels | Comments Off

Vol-22_No-13_Sept-12-2022

Posted on September 11, 2022 by Rob Wood

In this 8020Info Water Cooler we look into losses that can go hand in hand with new strategies, seven rules of power, the impact of identities, pitfalls when presenting bulleted lists, and the importance of authority, warmth and energy in achieving success. Enjoy!

Own Up to Losses Linked to New Strategies
Presenting Bulleted Lists Effectively
The Power of AWE
People Pushing Off-Topic Narratives
The List: The Seven Rules of Power
Reflecting on Our Identities
Reading: Both/And Thinking
Reading: Maxims for Thinking Analytically

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Tagged analytical thinking, both/and thinking, emotional intelligence, maxims, New strategies, personal narratives, presentation, rules of power | Comments Off

Vol-22_No-12_Aug-22-2022

Posted on August 21, 2022 by Rob Wood

In this 8020Info Water Cooler we look at “voice cultivation” to keep ideas alive in your organization, a way to focus on what matters most, policy expiration dates, conversations to pursue after onboarding, framing initiatives as experiments and balancing three board roles. Enjoy!

Keeping Ideas Alive
How to Keep Focused on What Matters Most
Give your Policies Expiration Dates
Conversations to Pursue after Onboarding
The Model: Framing Initiatives as Experiments
Finding Balance Among Three Board Roles
Reading: Building a Second Brain
Reading: The Anticipatory Organization.

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